Too Much Joy Acquitted in Obscenity Trial

Jurors took just 13 minutes to acquit Too Much Joy, the New York rock band charged with performing “obscene” material during an adults-only performance at a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., nightclub last summer. Three members of the group had been arrested Aug. 10 after singing six songs from Miami rap group 2 Live Crew’s “As Nasty as They Wanna Be” album.

After absolving the band of guilt Thursday, the court admonished law enforcement authorities for wasting taxpayers’ money and time in prosecuting the case.

“The citizens of Florida realize that there are more important matters for government to monitor than the lyrics of popular music,” Too Much Joy guitarist Jay Blumenfield said in a phone interview from Ft. Lauderdale. “Our case should have never even made it to trial.”

The concert which led to the arrests was staged at Club Futura, the same Hollywood, Fla., venue where 2 Live Crew was arrested on similar charges after their album was declared obscene by a federal judge in Ft. Lauderdale on June 6. The controversial rap group was acquitted on Oct. 20.

The verdict in the Too Much Joy trial followed two days of court proceedings. On Thursday, the Broward County State Attorney’s Office said that obscenity charges against Kenneth Geringer, owner of the venue where 2 Live Crew and Too Much Joy were arrested, will be dropped.